"We have just received urgent news from the Harwich fleet that the main force of the German High Seas Fleet has appeared less than 60 nautical miles from the mouth of the Thames, and will be in front of the mouth in three hours. This time the Germans almost poured out, not only did they have a large number of light escort ships, but the number of capital battleships exceeded 30; Even the Russian Pacific Fleet, which went to the Far East nine years ago, was far from being so prestigious! ”

In the operations conference hall of the Admiralty building, the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Studi, told the audience the news with a heavy face, and there was already a hint of fear in his slightly trembling words. On the long table next to him, First Sea Minister Fisher and Second Sea Secretary Hamilton also had shocked and angry expressions on their faces; Churchill, on the other hand, was smoking a cigar in his seat, and his heart was already stirring up.

"Sir Winston, didn't you pat your chest and promise me that the Germans would not attack because of the division of the Grand Fleet? Why, then, did the German fleet come straight to the mouth of the Thames less than two days after the news of the victory in the Mediterranean came back? Fisher spoke in a calm tone, but everyone could feel the anger in his words, "Betty's fleet is still being refueled and temporarily repaired in Alexandria, Egypt, and it will not return to Scapafro for eight days; Without these eight super dreadnoughts, the Grand Fleet would have no chance of winning the decisive battle against the German High Seas Fleet, no! ”

Churchill felt bitter in his throat and tried to argue something for himself, but in the end the words that came to his lips were swallowed by him, and he swallowed the clouds and fog without saying a word. During the previous three and a half months of war, the main force of the German High Seas Fleet was indeed squatting in the harbor. Even normal combat cruises are omitted by simplified maintenance; Even Hipper, who was dubbed the baby killer. It is only in the last month that frequent attacks on the British coastline have begun to occur. Such behavior of the opposing navy. It is difficult to associate it with the determination to dare to fight a decisive battle. Therefore, driven by the rush to get rid of the overwhelming accusations, Churchill still made up his mind to attack Germany's Rim of the Mediterranean satellite first. However, what he never expected was that the attitude of the Germans turned 180 degrees after the division of the Grand Fleet, and they directly led the whole family to the door of the British Empire to seek revenge; Its movements are so fast and the lineup is complete, it is completely a desperate posture of either you die or I die!

"Immediately impose martial law at the mouth of the Thames to prevent merchant ships from going to sea, and inform by radio of merchant ships destined for this nearby port in the near future. Have them go elsewhere to uninstall. Churchill took the burned cigar in his mouth and said slowly, "In addition, inform the people that the Royal Navy will take the most severe punishment for the provocations of the Germans, and ask them to wait patiently for the lifting of martial law at sea." ”

Hamilton raised his head in some surprise, stared into Churchill's eyes, and said, "Your Excellency Winston, you don't really want the Grand Fleet to have a desperate duel with the Germans at this point in time, do you?" Even if we have a full squad, a decisive battle is a very risky thing. Not to mention the fact that we still have eight super-dreadnoughts in the Mediterranean! Now, even add the pre-dreadnoughts of General Carden's Channel Fleet to one place. We also have fewer capital ships than the Germans, and this battle must not be fought! ”

Churchill exhaled deeply and said, "Of course, the battle of a head-on battle cannot be fought. Although the Harwich fleet found no trace of the German battle cruisers, judging from the fact that the main German fleet had already been dispatched, it was impossible for them to be absent from such an important operation, but they were not discovered by us for the time being. However, we could have dealt a heavy blow to the invading Germans in other ways. ”

Hearing these words, Fisher's eyes fell on Churchill with a little surprise.

"In all previous wars, the Royal Navy appeared on the outskirts of the ports along the enemy's coast with absolute strength, imposed a strict short-range blockade on them, and blocked their right to use the sea. However, in this war, the Grand Fleet did not adopt this strategy, but chose the anchorage at Scapavlo, the northernmost part of Scotland, and shared the entire North Sea with the Germans. The reason for this is that, in addition to the fact that our strength does not constitute an absolute superiority over the Germans, there is another more important factor, that is, the rapid development of new weapons such as torpedo boats and submarines has posed a huge threat to the capital ships that are approaching the blockade of the enemy's ports. ”

Churchill's eyes were blazing, and the thoughts in his mind became clearer and clearer, and he said: "This time the Germans came to the mouth of the Thames with their entire fleet to challenge, ostensibly to stab the dagger into the weakest soft belly of our Britain, but in fact, it was an excellent opportunity for us to sink the German capital ship at a relatively small cost." How similar is the Germans' approach to the mouth of the Thames with their main fleet now similar to the short-range blockade that we had abandoned before the war! There were wide mine arrays we had laid outside the estuary, and our 13.5-inch shore guns on either side of the estuary, which the Germans had to deal with slowly unless they wanted to afford the sinking of more than a third of their ships. And during this time, we can launch a torpedo attack on it with submarines, and if we can sink several German capital ships, it will be the most desirable result! ”

Fisher's eyes flashed, and he said slowly: "At present, the Royal Navy has more than 60 active submarines, and in order to prevent the Germans from storming the English Channel, four of them are serving in the Channel Fleet, and they are less than eight hours away from the Thames. If you choose to draw this force, it will indeed be effective to rush to the battlefield where they are needed urgently. But Winston, would the people tolerate the presence of the German fleet in the heart of Britain while the Grand Fleet remained in Scapa Flow? If that's the case, we'll be charged with treason the next day, court-martialed, and never be able to turn back again! ”

"As for the people's willingness to call for war, we can explain openly to them that it is precisely because Admiral Betty and the eight super-dreadnoughts have not yet had time to rush back to their homeland that this is not the best time for the Royal Navy to carry out a decisive battle with the Germans." Churchill struck a match, lit a new cigar for himself, and said, "Betty has just won a great victory in the Mediterranean, and it has long been of equal weight in the eyes of the British people; If it were to wait for his fleet to return home, I don't think the subjects of the Reich would have insisted on the will to destroy the Germans at once. Waiting for the return of the new king Nelson, and then the perfect script to annihilate the German fleet in a complete victory, is enough to make them endure the anticipation! ”

The three generals of Fisher glanced at each other, and they all saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

"By the time Betty returns to Britain with the fleet, at least a week will have passed; And these days were the perfect time for our submarines to sneak up on those German battleships outside the estuary. The submarines of the Harwich fleet of the Strait Fleet all went out together, trying to get a torpedo hit. At that time, the Grand Fleet, which had regained its full strength, was fully qualified to take the initiative to seek a decisive battle against the weakened German High Seas Fleet. If the Germans choose to flee back to Hong Kong, the crisis will be resolved naturally, and if the Germans dare to continue to show their might, we will not mind annihilating their fleet in one fell swoop! Churchill added.

――――――――――――

More than 150 kilometers away from London, a large number of majestic ships are sailing slowly in the direction of the estuary, and the thick black clouds that cover the sky and the sun are spewed out by the chimneys, and there is a terrifying scene of the coming end. The British fishermen, casting their nets in the open sea, stared blankly at the almost dreamlike scene, wondering if their vision had been miraged. It was only after the warning shells from the German torpedo boats that they woke up from a dream, turned their bows and ran wildly towards land. Among them, there is still a large part of them who insist that it is the home fleet of the Royal Navy; Because in their minds, no country's navy dares to slap the queen in the face on Britain's doorstep!

In the commander tower of the Frederick the Great, the flagship of the High Seas Fleet, Ingnoll looked at the sea to the west, where the water and the sky met, and a trace of gray-black, which was different from the sea and the sky, gradually appeared in a blue. He took a deep breath and said, "Send a signal to the Cormorant, and the seaplane it is carrying is ready to take off." Now that we have arrived on the Thames, we should give the British a once-in-a-lifetime gift! The order was given, and the 2nd Battlefleet began to take a battle line to 341, and when the seaplanes returned the azimuth distance, they began to fire sequentially at the British shore defense batteries. ”

......With the roar of a propeller, the Seahawk I seaplane with two large pontoons began to glide in a straight line on the surface of the sea, and then staggered like a big stupid bird, reaching the sky. Beneath it, four mighty battleships began to glide across the sea, and 32 350-mm guns were raised to a maximum elevation angle of 20 degrees, pointing far away at the British coastline in the distance. A 600-kilogram shell is pushed into the chamber, and with the surging force of the intense combustion of the 152-kilogram propellant, they will be able to fly straight to a distance of 23,000 meters.

"The target distance is 22600, the deviation is 300; Azimuth 244, deviation 1. After a short time, a group of telegrams carried by the guò seaplane were delivered. (To be continued......)

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